SAP has released the 2023 release (Feature Pack Stack FPS0) of SAP S/4HANA Cloud, private edition, and SAP S/4HANA on 11^th October 2023.

This blog post provides an overview of innovations for Maintenance Management and Resource Scheduling capabilities in SAP S/4HANA Cloud, private edition 2023 plus new features that were made available in the first half year 2023 with Feature Packs 2022 FPS01 and FPS02.
In addition, this blog post is enriched with impressive system demos that I’ve cut out of the recordings of the last Product Expert training.

First, this blog post starts with the table of contents for ease of reference and allows you to navigate directly to the topic you are interested in by clicking on a specific entry.

Maintenance Management

Time Zone Conversion

Work Permit Management – Manage Simplified Work Permit (+ demo video)

Additional filters in the Find Maintenance Task List apps

Assignment of documents to materials in task list operations

Mass Change of Maintenance Order Header Attributes (+ demo video)

Validity of Phase Control Codes

Assignment of Documents and DIR in Maintenance Request Apps (+ demo video)

Create multiple maintenance request drafts for later submission (+ demo video)

Install/Dismantle sub-ordinate equipments from Find Technical Objects (+ demo video)

Mass Edit Functionality for Technical Objects

Integration between Real Estate Object and Technical Object

New Manage Material Serial Number Fiori app

New Business Role for Master Data Specialist

Improved Handling of Work Packs for Output Management

SAP Spatial Asset Management

Resource Scheduling (+ demo video)

Time Zone Support

Maintenance Scheduling Board – Enhancements

Manage Schedules – Enhancements

Generate Recurring Schedules Automatically

Manage Maintenance Schedule for Assets – Enhancements

Manage Work Center Utilization – Enhancements

More Information / Additional Links

For a focussed start, check out my video highlighting the following innovations:

• Work Permit Management – Manage Simplified Work Permit
• Create multiple maintenance request drafts for later submission
• Assignment of People to Operations in Resource Scheduling

Video 1: Highlights for maintenance management and resource scheduling in the 2023 release

Maintenance Management

Time Zone Conversion

If you want to record the create or display the date and time in relation to the time zone in which you are located instead of converting it into UTC, then this innovation could be your top highlight!

In several apps, the dates and times of technical objects, maintenance notifications, maintenance requests, maintenance items, maintenance plans, maintenance orders, and order operations are now displayed in combined timestamp fields. The new fields replace the corresponding date or date and time fields and show the dates and times as a timestamp in the local time zone of the current user. The relevant filters have also been replaced and now allow filtering by both dates and times.

Dates and times are available as timestamp fields in the following apps:

• Find Maintenance Orders and Operations (F2173)
• Find Maintenance Orders (F2175)
• Manage Maintenance Notifications and Orders (F4604)
• Manage Maintenance Backlog (F4073)
• Manage Component and Services (F6178)
• Create Maintenance Request (F1551A)
• My Maintenance Requests (F4513)
• Screen Maintenance Requests (F4072)
• Find Maintenance Notification (F2071)
• Display Maintenance Notifications (F5797)
• Technical Object Breakdowns (F2812)
• Technical Object Damages (F3075)
• Manage Maintenance Items (F5356)
• Manage Maintenance Plans (F5325)
• My Inbox (F0862)

Let me show you two examples:

Multiple Counter Maintenance Plan

When you process or display maintenance plans of type Multiple Counter in the Manage Maintenance Plans app (F5325), you can view the scheduling start date and time in your local user time zone. The system converts the system time zone into the time zone of the current user as set in the SAP Fiori Launchpad and in the browser.

Figure 1: ‘Manage Maintenance Plan’ app – SAP Fiori Launchpad User Settings – Time Zone

Figure 2: ‘Manage Maintenance Plan’ app – scheduling start date and time in local user time zone

Call Objects for Maintenance Item

When you view the call objects for a maintenance item in the Manage Maintenance Items app (F5356), you can view the completion date and time, scheduled start date and time, scheduled end date and time, basic start date and time, basic end date and time, required start date and time, and required end date and time in your local user time zone.

Figure 3: ‘Manage Maintenance Items’ app – date and time fields in local user time zone

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 Work Permit Management – Manage Simplified Work Permit

The new Permit to Work solution helps to manage the risks inherent to hazardous tasks and ensure that the necessary precautions are put in place to improve the safety of personnel, plant, and the environment. Permit to Work serves as an operational safety barrier to safeguard the plant and personnel against any undesired results. For this it provides, Work Permit and Work Permit Templates.

Work Permit which is a formal printed document with the description of the work, the requirements to be fulfilled, and the safety measures to be followed. A work permit authorizes the receiver to carry out the specified work at the specified time and acts as an agreement between the issuer and the receiver about the conditions, risks, and precautions involved.

Work Permit Templates, can be used to built a library of templates which documents protocols required for a specific job of repetitive nature, and when the actual work is initiated, work permits can be created with reference to these templates to keep consistent and concise safety measures.

The next figure shows the Work Permit Structure:

Figure 4: Work Permit Structure

The next figure shows the process flow of the Permit to Work solution in Maintenance Management:

Figure 5: Process flow of the Permit to Work solution in Maintenance Management

The Permit to Work solution provides 3 new SAP Fiori apps:

• F4691 – Create Work Permit Request
• F6579 – Manage Work Permits
• F4692 – Manage Work Permit Template

for the business roles:

• Maintenance Planner
• Industrial Hygienist
• Plant Manager – EHS Info

Note: These apps are part of the S/4HANA WCM license valid as of the SAP S/4HANA 2022 FPS02 release.

Watch the demo video below in which Christian Baust shows how to create a new Work Permit, submit to approval, approve, print and hand out the work permit.

Video 2: Create a new Work Permit, submit to approval, approve, print and hand out the work permit

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Additional filters in the Find Maintenance Task List apps

You can now use the filter Has Operation in the Find Maintenance Task List (F2660) app. By setting this filter and choosing the value No you can display task lists without operations. By choosing the value Yes you can display only task lists that have operations. You can now filter for Maintenance Task Lists and Task List Operations by Created By, Created On, Changed By and Changed On and display this administrative information in the Find Maintenance Task List (F2660) and Find Maintenance Task List and Operation (F2661) apps.

Figure 6: ‘Find Maintenance Task Lists’ app – additional filter criteria and displayed information

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Assignment of documents to materials in task list operations

You could already assign documents to the task list and the task list operations. With FPS01 you can do the same for the materials in the task list.
The document assignments to the materials are copied over to the maintenance order.

You must configure document assignments in customizing activity Define DMS Document Types for object PMPLMZ – Maint. Tasklist Comp.

Figure 7: ‘Change Task List’ app – Document Assignments

The Maintenance Task List Operation object page displays now the number of attached documents in the Material section of an operation. You can navigate from the Find Maintenance Task List or Find Maintenance Task List and Operation app to the Maintenance Task List Operation object page.

Figure 8: ‘Maintenance Task List Operation’ object page

You can assign documents to components also in the SAP GUI transactions. The assignment to component is displayed.

Figure 9: new option ‘Assign Document to Component’ in SAP GUI transaction

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 Mass Change of Maintenance Order Header Attributes

You can now edit the following header details of one or more selected maintenance orders using the new Edit Orders quick action in the Find Maintenance Orders app:

• order description
• maintenance activity type
• priority
• system condition

Watch the demo video below in which Niranjan Raju shows how to mass change the header attributes of maintenance orders.

Video 3: ‘Find Maintenance Orders’ app: Mass change the header attributes of maintenance orders

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Validity of Phase Control Codes

If you process your maintenance orders according to phases, you can activate phase control codes on order header or order operation level. Phase control codes that are activated for a maintenance order allow you to control whether the maintenance order is passed on to the next subphase and phase.

Your business requirements might change over time so that a correlated and already existing phase control code might become not relevant any more. Now, you can configure the validity of the phase control codes in the configuration activity Define Phase Control Code for Maintenance Orders. With this feature, you can configure whether specific phase control codes are still valid, will no longer be used in future or are an invalid entry.

For further information, check out the SAP Help.

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Assignment of Documents and DIR in Maintenance Request apps

You can now upload a document, add a link or assign an existing document to the maintenance request in the apps

• Create Maintenance Request (F1511A)
• My Maintenance Requests (F4513)
• Screen Maintenance Requests (F4072)

Browse existing document info records (DIRs) while using maintenance requests apps.

Two predefined document types are available – YP1 and YP2.

If you configure a document type in the configuration activity Define DMS Document Types (SSCUI ID 101090), the document type that you defined will be available for selection in the dropdown list.

Figure 10: ‘Create Maintenance Request’ app – Assign document

Niranjan Raju explains the new feature in the following demo video:

Video 4: Assignment of Documents and DIR in Maintenance Request apps

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Save and View Multiple Drafts of Maintenance Requests

You can now save the existing draft and create a new draft in the Create Maintenance Request app. The Create Draft button allows you to create a new draft without discarding the existing draft. The My Drafts button allows you to view all your drafts in the My Maintenance Requests app.

Figure 11: ‘Create Maintenance Request’ app – Create Draft

By the way, the drafts are only accessible to the user who created them and it is not possible to share the draft with another user.

Niranjan Raju shows in the video below how to save and view multiple maintenance request drafts.

Video 5: Multiple Drafts in Maintenance Requests

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Install/Dismantle of Subordinate Equipment in Find Technical Object app

You can now install equipment on the equipment or dismantle equipment from the equipment using the options that are available in the Manage Structure dropdown list in the Find Technical Object app (F2072).

Figure 12: ‘Find Technical Object’ app – Install Subordinate Equipment

Niranjan Raju shows the new feature in the following demo video:

Video 6: ‘Find Technical Object’ app – Install Subordinate Equipment

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Mass Edit Functionality for Technical Objects

If the user has the below authorization

Authorization object: I_MASS

ID : IE (For equipment)

ID : IF (For Functional Locations)

the Mass Edit Technical Objects and Application Logs buttons appear in the Find Technical Object app to execute the Mass Edit functionality.

Now, the field Catalog Profile is added to the Location and Organizational Data section and the Customer Warranty and Vendor Warranty sections are added to the Mass Edit Technical Objects pop-up window as shown in the figure below. You can now select one or more technical objects and edit customer warranty and vendor warranty details.

Figure 13: ‘Find Technical Object’ app – Mass Edit Technical Objects

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Integration between Real Estate Object and Technical Object

You can now search for real estate objects to assign to the technical object, assign real estate objects to technical objects (functional location and equipment), and navigate to the real estate object in the SAP Intelligent Real Estate from the technical object if you have activated the SAP Intelligent Real Estate product. SAP Note 3218235 describes how to setup or use SAP Intelligent Real Estate.

Figure 14: ‘Change Technical Object’ app – navigate to the real estate object that is assign to technical object

The same functionality is available for Real Estate Object assignment for SAP GUI as for the simplified user interfaces.

Figure 15: SAP GUI app ‘Create Functional Location’ – ‘Real Estate’ tab

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Manage Material Serial Numbers

With the new SAP FIORI app Manage Material Serial Numbers you can manage material serial numbers based on filter parameters. Default filters enable you to search for a list of material serial numbers. You can choose the arrow of a list entry to navigate to the Material Serial Number object page that allows you to activate the Equipment View and provides additional functions like Change Serial Number. You can create one or more material serial numbers. On the Create Mass Material Serial Numbers option,  the system will navigate to a pop-up to enter Material Number, Number of Serial Numbers, From and To Serial Number and Equipment Category.

Figure 16: SAP Fiori app ‘Manage Material Serial Numbers’ app – Create Mass Material Serial Numbers and navigation to Material Serial Number object page

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New Business User Role for Master Data Specialists

With the new standard user role for Master Data Specialists – Maintenance Management (SAP_BR_MD_SPECIALIST_EAM) you manage all the master data apps from the home screen for

• Technical Objects
• Serial Numbers
• Documents and Classes
• Planning

Figure 17: SAP Fiori Launchpad for role Master Data Specialists – Maintenance Management

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Improved Handling of Work Packs for Output Management

Simplified Printing for Multiple Orders and Operations

Previously you only had the option to create a work pack and send the work pack to the output manually.

With the 2023 release, you can print or email shop papers for one or more maintenance orders or order operations based on specific configuration settings in a single step. The system creates a work pack based on predefined settings and automatically sends the work pack to the configured output channels.
As shown in the figure below, a new Print button is available in the Find Maintenance Orders app and the Find Maintenance Orders and Operations app.
If you select one or more maintenance orders or one or more order operations and choose Print, the system creates a work pack with a predefined work pack type and predefined grouping criteria and automatically sends the work pack to the configured output channels. The entire process is performed in a background job. You can view the status of the work pack creation, system errors, and work pack details such as the ID, work pack type and grouping criteria in the Application Logs. You can view the status of the output creation by navigating to the Manage Work Packs app and searching for the work pack using the work pack ID or order number.

Figure 18: ‘Find Maintenance Orders’ app – new ‘Print’ button

You need to enable the Print option in your system configuration. In your configuration environment, use the search function to open the following activity: Assign Grouping Criteria to Work Pack Type.

Figure 19: ‘Configure Your Solution’ app – Configuration Steps for Work Packs

Select one combination of work pack type and grouping criteria and select the checkbox in the Output Immediately table column. You can only select this checkbox for one entry.

Figure 20: ‘Configure Your Solution’ app – Assign Grouping Criteria to Work Pack Type

Manage Work Packs – Suboperations as Jobs and Additional Standard Forms

The maintenance supervisor is now able to select the suboperations as jobs and select the additional output forms with job packs from the newly added standard set of forms.

Figure 21: Manage Work Packs – Suboperations as jobs

Figure 22: Manage Work Packs – Additional output forms with job packs

Enable Automatic Attachments for Output Items

In addition, you will be able to automatically attach or merge documents of particular document
types with output items for maintenance orders, maintenance notifications, and maintenance job packs.

Figure 23: ‘Configure Your Solution’ app – Configuration Steps for Output Control

The configuration allows the configuration expert to define possible document types to be attached to the output items of maintenance orders, maintenance notifications, and maintenance job packs .

Figure 24: ‘Configure Your Solution’ app – Assign Document Types for Output

It is also possible to configure attachments to determine if an attachment must be merged for specific channels.

Figure 25 ‘Configure Your Solution’ app – Define Output Settings for Document Types

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SAP Spatial Asset Management

Spatial Data Explorer and Spatial Data Editor

Based on Esri’s recommendation, the new apps Spatial Data Explorer and Spatial Data Editor have been built using the 4.x API and made available with Feature Pack 2022 FPS01. The new apps use the same backend services and database as the old apps so, the existing data is available in the new apps along with the new data you create.
The older apps Spatial Editor and Spatial Explorer built using the 3.x API will be deprecated in an upcoming release so, we recommend that you adapt your custom UI logic to the new apps.

The new apps have all the capabilities of the existing apps. Additionally, they support 3D maps.

Figure 26: ‘Spatial Editor’ – Pan and rotate in 3D maps

Figure 27: ‘Spatial Editor’ – Support for 3D elevation

Learn how to assign the business catalog to your role and the role to your user to access the SAP Fiori app ‘Spatial Data Editor’, how to launch the SAP Fiori app and how to create geometry for your geo-object.

Video 7: SAP Fiori app ‘Spatial Data Editor’ – System demo by Christian Baust

Learn how to launch the Spatial Editor in the Technical Object SAP GUI app.

Video 8: Launch Spatial Editor in Technical Object SAP GUI app – System demo by Christian Baust

View Dynamic Segments of Linear Data

Transactions like IN21 and IN23 used to provide capability to visualize the object network as a graph. JNET based graph was used to visualize the object network which used to open within the SAP GUI application. JNET is no longer supported by any browsers and hence graphical view of object network stopped working.

With 2022 FPS01, you can view a graphical representation of dynamic segments of linear data in a separate screen which is a Fiori-based user interface that is not a standalone app.

Figure 28: Transaction IN23 (Display Network) with navigation to new Fiori-based ‘Network Graph’

You can view the details of the object and trigger actions.

Figure 29: new Fiori-based ‘Network Graph’ – view object details

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Quick action Assign/Unassign Event at order level

In the Maintenance Scheduling Board app, you can now use the context menu at menu order level to quickly assign or unassign a maintenance event.

Figure 33: ‘Maintenance Scheduling Board’ app – Quick action ‘Assign Event’

Quick Manual Change of Order Planned Start Date

Quickly change the planned start date of one or more maintenance orders simply by right-clicking on the orders and choosing Set Planned Start.

Figure 42: ‘Manage Maintenance Schedule for Assets’ app – new quick action ‘Set Planned Start’

Choice of time period for displaying data

You can now choose which time period you want to use for displaying data in the Manage Maintenance Schedule for Assets app.

Figure 43: ‘Manage Maintenance Schedule for Assets’ app – New date picker to change the displayed time period

Selection of Multiple Orders

You can now select multiple maintenance orders in the Manage Maintenance Schedule for Assets app in order to simultaneously trigger an action for them. Multi-selection is possible e.g. as shown in the next figure via lasso or by holding the control-key and clicking the individual orders to be selected.

Figure 44: ‘Manage Maintenance Schedule for Assets’ app – Selection of multiple orders via ‘lasso’ 

Additional Order Actions Available in Context Menu

In the Manage Maintenance Schedule for Assets app you now have a context menu for each maintenance order at your disposal, which you can use to carry out selected actions more quickly.
If you right-click on a maintenance order, you can choose between the following functions:

• Trigger Scheduling
• Open Order
• Show in Maintenance Scheduling Board
• Assign Event
• Unassign Event

Figure 45: ‘Manage Maintenance Schedule for Assets’ app – additional order actions in context menu

Field Extensibility

The field catalog for available columns has been enabled for custom field extensibility in the Manage Maintenance Schedule for Assets app. App users can choose whether they want to display custom fields for maintenance orders.

Figure 46: ‘Manage Maintenance Schedule for Assets’ app – custom field ‘Sort Field’ has been added to field catalog for available columns

More Information / Additional Links

Thanks for reading this blog post. Stay tuned!

If you are also interested in other Lines of Business and Industries for this new SAP S/4HANA Cloud, private edition 2023 release, I would like to draw your attention to the blog posts

• SAP S/4HANA Cloud, private edition | 2023 Release from Christian Vogler
• 2023 Release Highlights in Seconds: SAP S/4HANA & SAP S/4HANA Cloud, private edition | SAP Blogs from Noboru Ota.

If you want to see the entire PDF presentation of all innovations, see here.

If you want to learn more about SAP S/4HANA Cloud, private edition, join our Partner Community. This group focuses on providing enhanced learnings and periodic updates with respect to the SAP S/4HANA Cloud, private edition product. Our goal is to facilitate collaboration with your peers and SAP subject matter experts.

For general roadmap information please check the SAP S/4HANA Roadmap.

Further Information:

• The Link Collection for Asset Management
• SAP S/4HANA Cloud, private edition release info: com/s4hana
• SAP S/4HANA Cloud, private edition, and SAP S/4HANA Community here
• SAP S/4HANA PSCC Digital Enablement Wheel here
• Inside SAP S/4HANA Podcast here
• Best practices for SAP S/4HANA Cloud, private edition here
• Help Portal Product Page here
• Feature Scope Description here
• What’s New here

Follow us via @SAP and #S4HANA, or myself via @GerhardWelker and LinkedIn